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First telescope & mount for beginner

smr

By smr
in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

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smr

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I bought the star adventurer earlier on and it's coming tomorrow but I'm wondering if should have now. I've not felt like this about buying any of my photography gear before but I'm just thinking, I'll have a mount with which to start taking photos of things I can hardly make out but I've skipped buying something to view the sky with first. I'm wondering whether to send it back already and invest in a telescope for observing, or keep the star adventurer and buy a telescope for visual now. 

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brantuk

brantuk

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With your array of lenses I doubt there's many superior combinations for photography within your budget. If you got an HEQ5 Pro with a 130pds you'll be spending the best part of £1K for a dual observing/imaging rig. A Heritage 130p is a great idea for observing - or a used 130p on an EQ3 or AZ4 mount would also be a reasonable (price wise) alternative for observing. But the Star Adventurer is hard to beat at this price point.

If you're keen to do some observing our local astro soc (East Mids Stargazers) meets quite frequently, and there's also Leicester AS who meet weekly, until you can get a personal scope. Here's a couple of examples:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=131883

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

 

 

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smr

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Hmm I'm not really interested in seeing smudges. I have taken (what I'm pleased with) photos of the Moon and seen it quite well through my Sigma 600mm. I'm sure scopes provide far more wow factor and higher magnification though. 

Maybe I am just as well buying the star adventure to begin with some basic level astrophotography. I've never even attempted to capture the milky way so I guess there's no point running before you can walk.

I am sat here wondering though, nonetheless - as to whether I should increase / or should have increased my budget to around £1k and bought an EQ5 Syn Scan mount with an 80ED and just started somewhere nearer the deep end. From what I gather the more you spend the easier it things become in a way? 

Am I right in thinking that with GoTo mounts you just tap in the controller where you want to go in the sky and it can lock onto a target, such as the Orion Nebula for instance? And as long as the polar alignment etc. is done properly it's a lot easier to track and take very long exposures letting lots of light and data gather?

If that's the case then I'm wondering if I should be budgeting around £1k and doing it that way. Or am I just chewing off more than I can eat?

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smr

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22 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Unless you spend even more a goto needs to be aligned first with 2 or 3 known stars. A portable set can go to really dark skies and capture even more. Did you look at that thread I linked to?

Yes I did look yesterday and there are some outstanding images on it, I've just had another look and posted in there too. Thanks for the reminder. I've read so much yesterday and today, watching a lot of videos as well to try and soak up as much as I can about Astro Photography. I think I'll buy the book recommended on page 1 too. Seems to be the Astro photographer's Bible. Having had another look at the images on that thread it has dispelled any worries I've had. There's a youtube channel where a guy called star-watcher.cx has posted some incredible photos used with his Star Adventurer and I've been watching that too - although he is using modified DSLR and autoguiding.

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10 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

If you already own an android device then that app I had mentioned earlier on thread really helps with focus and has a intervolomter built in. The app lightbox is useful for taking flats.

DSLR controller app - that the name of the actual app then? Is it the £7.99 one from 'Chainfire'?

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6 hours ago, brantuk said:

How're you getting on with your new toy? lol :)

Received it today, haven't properly unboxed it yet, going to set it all up and see how everything fits together this evening. Quite excited actually :)

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Got it set up tonight to see how everything goes together...

20171207_212934.jpg

Also ordered Steve Richards' book on how to make every photon count. 

Now to figure out polaris alignment and how to find objects in Space unguided...

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smr

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Thanks guys. In terms of dew heaters, I'm not really one for DIY just yet so I'm wondering what to get for a ready made dew heater / shield set up. Any recommendations please?

 

Would this be suitable? And if so how can I power it?

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/COOWOO-Heater-Warmer-Universal-Telescopic/dp/B0744FYYTZ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1512728391&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=dew+heater&psc=1

 

and this for a battery?

 

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/sky-watcher-7ah-rechargeable-power-tank-1525822/

 

?

 

 

 

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brantuk

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At the bottom of the advert there's a power pack to go with that lens warmer. As for powering the mount I understand folks have used the SW 7ah pack which has a usb socket at the appropriate voltage. But mine takes 4 AA batteries at a total 6v and they seem to last a fair while - so I didn't try the power pack route yet. :)

 

 

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happy-kat

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Some members use a hand warmer.

Quote

 On the subject of dewing I have found attaching a disposable hand warmer with an elastic band around the end of the lens works a treat all night.

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A simple solution that works for me: hand warmer in a sock held on with a rubber band.

 

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smr

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Onto shooting, my Canon 80D has an internal interval timer.

If for instance I wanted to photograph the Orion Nebula with my 2.8 105mm lens, what interval should I choose between shots and how many shots etc.?

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brantuk

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M42 has some very bright bits and some very faint bits - plus a lot in between. So you'll want a variety of exposure times to pick them all up. To start try 10s, 20s, 30s, and 40s, and get say ten of each - that's what I did for my first shots of M42. I too didn't have a modified camera (1000D) - but I'm not sure what the 80D is capable of, some Canons have special settings for low light shots. I'm no AP expert but I used  ISO800 initially, camera set to manual, and flash off. Interval between shots I set to the same as the exposure time iirc to let the chip cool down.

Once you have a bunch of exposures (or subs as we call them) you'll need to stack and align them using some stacking software like "Deep Sky Stacker" (free to d/l), and then finish them with photo processing software like "Photoshop". You'll want to experiment with different ISO's and different exposure lengths eventually - but that should get your toes well dipped in the dark arts. The book you are ordering will give you a lot more info - and there's a lot of threads on M42 in the Imaging sections of the forum. Looking forward to seeing your first shots. :) 

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smr

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Thank you very much for the detailed post. I may buy an intervalometer as it looks like the easiest way of setting exposures but for now I am using DSLRController to see how I can go about it that way.

I received an email last night from Steve to thank me for ordering the book and that he had dispatched it, which I thought was nice.

Received today and have finished reading it.

What I particularly like about it is the way everything is explained with the Fs in order through to final processing. The observatory dome chapter was interesting too!

I have a much clearer idea as to how AP works. The book has given me a clear structure as to understanding what goes into AP, equipment and software wise, with a well arranged order, so that is very good.

Many thanks for the recommendation. I can see why people refer to it as the AP imager's Bible.

Thanks to Steve for writing such a good book as well. It will be a guide I will refer to again and again.

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